Ukraine escalates attacks on Russian oil facilities with drone strikes

The Ukrainian Military Intelligence (HUR) launched a drone attack on a fuel depot in the Belgorod region of Russia, as reported on Tuesday by the Ukrainska Prawda website, citing a source within the HUR.

As a result of the attack, three fuel tanks exploded. According to two different Telegram channels – Mash and 112 – one or two tanks caught fire.

Ukrainian media, citing Russian sources, reported that a fuel storage facility in the village of Dołgoje, approximately 80 km north of Belgorod, was targeted.

The governor of the Kursk region, Roman Starovoyt, stated that shelling at the Glushkovo railway station in the region resulted in a fire, which has since been extinguished; high-voltage lines were also damaged.

Ukrainian strikes on refineries and fuel depots have had a measurable impact. Oil refining decreased by 94,000 barrels per day compared to the previous week. Stocks have reduced to 380,000 barrels when compared to December, as reported by Bloomberg.

Since the start of the year, Ukrainian drone attacks have damaged six Russian refineries across the country, accounting for about 18 percent of Russia's total oil processing capacity.

The drone strikes have caused significant disruptions in oil processing at several facilities including the Rosneft PJSC refinery in Ryazan, the Lukoil PJSC plants in Volgograd, and the independent Il'ski and Afipski plants.

There were also attacks on the Lukoil refinery in Perm in the Urals, a location far from the main areas of attack. The Rosneft refinery in Tuapse, destroyed in a fire on January 25, had to completely halt production.